There’s no mistaking the distinct voice—whether throbbing, singing, or screaming—of an electric guitar. How does one instrument produce so many different sounds? We visit with Bay Area electric guitarists Ava Mendoza and Henry Kaiser, plus Subway Guitars’ very own Fat Dog, to explore the components of this versatile instrument, getting down to pick-ups, “pots,” and pedals that make it sing.

Since 1969, the Exploratorium has set the standard for hands-on, inquiry-based education. See how our new Pier 15 home, with its new exhibits and expanded resources, is helping us achieve our mission: to change the way the world learns.

For our first episode in a new season of "Science in the City," we explore the creation of a bell for the Exploratorium’s new home at Pier 15.
Artist Nick Diphillipo has been designing and casting bells and other objects for over thirty years. He teaches bell making at The Crucible in Oakland, California, as well as other foundry-related subjects.

Ongoing through March 31, 2013 | Times and locations TBA
Location: Multiple locations in San Francisco; for specific locations, follow @theexplainers on Twitter.
In the months before our grand opening, orange-vested Explainers will bring the Exploratorium experience to unexpected spots around San Francisco. These weekly site-specific activities will be designed to make you notice and engage with the world around you, and to shake you out of your normal, everyday routines.
Explainers will help you notice clouds at Aquatic Park, find north without a compass at Ghirardelli Square, experience our mobile Camera Obscura in Union Square, and challenge your sense of perception out in the neighborhoods. In January locations will vary; in February and March, look for those orange vests along the Embarcadero, in front of Pier 15.
Music by Pat Spurgeon

Curiosity has made a discovery! What could it be? Why are JPL scientists keeping this breaking news classified for now? Exploratorium host and Mars enthusiast Robyn Higdon and Ron Hipshman will give you a refresher on Curiosity's SAM instrument and will discuss the process that scientists at JPL must endure before releasing this ground breaking discovery to the public.

Exploratorium host and Mars enthusiast Robyn Higdon gives us a tour of the Mars Science Laboratory Mission thus far, what the Curiosity rover is doing now, and what to look forward to in the months to come.

Webcasts made possible through the generosity of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Jim Clark Endowment for Internet Education, the McBean Family Foundation.

Bandwidth and infrastructure support for connectivity to the California Research and Education Network and to other Internet2-connected networks provided by the Corporation for Educational Networks Initiatives in California (CENIC).